Additional safety measures have been put in place at a Billingham block of flats found to be cladded with combustible material.

Thirteen Group confirmed late on Friday that following further, in-depth inspections, Kennedy Gardens in Billingham has been found to be partially clad with “grade three cladding”, which is combustible.

The housing group will be removing the cladding first thing on Monday morning, but there will be no evacuations in the meantime.

More than 800 residents at a North London tower block were told to leave their homes immediately after combustible cladding was found, in the wake of the tragic fire at Grenfell Tower which claimed the lives of 79 people with dozens more missing and presumed dead.

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In a statement to ITV Tyne Tees, the service said: “We are aware that in the case of Kennedy Gardens this is partial cladding, and the control measures put in place by Thirteen Group reflect this.

“This includes preventing parking within six metres of the blocks, additional security and maintaining a 24 hour concierge presence in all three blocks.

“We are aware that Thirteen Group have been contacting residents of the flats to inform them of this, and to reinforce the evacuation procedures to be adopted should this prove necessary.

“We wish to reassure residents that the brigade has robust response arrangements in place should we be called to an incident in these flats, which we have reviewed in light of this information, and that we will continue to support our partners throughout the period of removal of the partial ACM cladding, which we understand will commence at the earliest opportunity.”

Tower blocks in Kennedy Gardens, Billingham (Image: unknown)

Thirteen safety officials tested all 20 of its Teesside tower blocks after the tragic Grenfell Tower fire in London, and told The Gazette on Thursday that none of its buildings had combustible cladding fitted.

But after further checks, the company will now inform residents at Kennedy Gardens in person, with staff on hand “to provide reassurance and give practical advice on minimising fire risks”.

Thirteen Group Chief Executive Ian Wardle said: “We acted immediately to ensure the safety of our residents by checking and double checking the nature of the cladding on our buildings, where it exists.

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“We had specified that the cladding should be fire retardant and following tests that have shown that this is not the case, work to remove the cladding will begin as soon as physically possible, and contractors will be on site from first thing Monday morning.

“Our team is now contacting residents of the building to make them aware and provide any practical assistance they might need.”

Kennedy Gardens is close to Billingham town centre and has around 340 residents, across three buildings, and is made up of one, two and three bedroom flats.